Michael John Neill's Genealogy Website
Our recent post, “In the Beginning Was Page 50,” got me to thinking: How would I cite an entry from that directory? There is an entry for my uncle that directory on what is referred to as Ancestry.com‘s image 55 out of 633: The image indicated it was page 45 of the actual book. Ancestry.com indicated it […]
The 1955 city directory for Peoria, Illinois, is included in Ancestry.com’s “US City Directories 1822-1989.” In attempting to interpret an entry from that year, I wanted to look at the front of the book where the abbreviations are usually located. The “viewer” at Ancestry.com allows one to go to specific images. When viewing page 1, I expected to get […]
Ancestry.com announced an “update” in it’s “US City Directories 1822-1989.” It’s clear from taking a look at the advertisements that the creation of database entries from this record set was automated. Production Machining and Welding Designing were apparently living as neighbors in Peoria, Illinois, in 1955. Mr. Designing worked as an “And.” Apparently it wasn’t […]
Those of us with rural ancestors sometimes don’t think to use publications other than newspapers to find references to our relatives. While this item from 1949 is not a “major find,” it was an interesting discovery. My grandfather is listed as consigning a bull to a sale of the Lamoine Valley Angus Breeder’s Association. Had […]
Elizabeth Shown Mills writes in Evidence Explained that “…we must remember: ‘The name’s the same’ does not mean the person is.” (p. 28 3rd edition) There is a great deal of truth in that statement and it’s a lesson that every genealogist learns at some point in their research. Those with ancestors have common names are painfully aware […]
